Preview Held for New Knapp / UTRGV Family Practice Residency Program in Mid-Valley

Preview Held for New Knapp / UTRGV Family Practice Residency Program in Mid-Valley

08-09-2017

6 Physicians form Inaugural Class for
1st Graduate Medical Education Program in Mid-Valley

MERCEDES, July 2017 – A preview and ribbon-cutting were held in Mercedes
July 20, 2017 for a new Knapp Medical Center / UTRGV Family Practice Residency
Program, with local leaders and businesses welcoming six new family practice
residents to the area.

The historic new program for the Mid-Valley is located in a new 13,800-square-foot
building on the western edge of Mercedes, at the northwest corner of Expressway
83 and N Mile 2 W Road (at 2810 W. Expressway 83).

In addition to participating in the Mid-Valley’s first graduate
medical education program, the residents will also see patients through
a new clinic which is expected to open in the Family Practice Residency
building in Mercedes in late August, under the direction of Dr. Miguel
Tello, Associate Program Director for the Knapp Medical Center / UTRGV
Family Practice Residency Program.

The new program represents an expansion of medical education into the
Mid-Valley.

“The Knapp / UTRGV Family Practice Residency Program will help create
more opportunities in the Mid-Valley for those who would like to receive
training as family medicine physicians,” said Rene J. Lopez, Chief
Executive Officer for Knapp Medical Center.

“In addition, the educational and clinical components of this exciting
project will
be great assets for the entire Mid-Valley, thanks to our partnership with
the University of
Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, the City of Mercedes, and the Knapp
Community Care Foundation,” Mr. Lopez added.

Dr. Tello said the first group of residents is an experienced group of
physicians,
who have served patients in various settings – ranging from colonias
in the Valley to
remote jungles and other challenging environments in South America and
elsewhere.

“We needed a seasoned group of physicians who would be able to handle the
stress of being a first-year class,” Dr. Tello added. “Their
varied experiences and
backgrounds really add a unique dimension to this class.”

One of the residents, Dr. Eddy Berges, who practiced medicine in the Dominican
Republic and Puerto Rico before coming to the Valley, noted that family medicine
physicians provide a wide range of services, including preventive health,
to people of all
ages, ranging from children to senior adults.

“I think it’s a very complete specialty where you can take
care of everything for a
person, for her environment, her family,” added Dr. Carolina Gomez
de Ziegler, who
practiced medicine in Venezuela before coming to the Valley.

Others who spoke at the preview event on July 20 included:

Dr. Eron Manusov, Department Chair & Program Director for Family and
Preventive Medicine, UTRGV Medical School

Also attending the event were Roberto “Bobby” Villarreal, District
Director for the
Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez; Magaly Torres, District Administrator for
State Rep. Armando Martinez; and Harsha Upadhyay, Executive Vice President for
Clinical Operations and Regional CEO for Prime Healthcare (Division II).

For more information on the new Knapp Medical Center / UTRGV Family
Practice Residency Program, please contact Alexandra Smith, GME Program
Coordinator for the Knapp / UTRGV Family Practice Residency Program at
KnappFamilyMed@utrgv.edu, or Veronica Martinez, Director of the Knapp Medical
Group at 956-973-5237; and visit: https://www.knappmed.org/Services/Family-Practice-
Residency-Clinic.aspx or www.utrgv.edu/som/residency/family-medicine-kmc.

INAUGURAL CLASS OF DOCTORS FOR NEW PROGRAM IN MID-VALLEY - Six
new family practice physician residents will form the inaugural class
for a new Knapp
Medical Center / UTRGV Family Practice Residency Program for the Mid-Valley, in
Mercedes. From the left are Dr. Diego Moreno, Dr. Eddy Berges, Dr. Marita del Pilar
Sanchez Sierra Marino, Dr. Miguel Tello (Associate Program Director),
Dr. Eliana
Costantino Burgazzi, Dr. Carolina Gomez de Ziegler; and Dr. Miguel A.
Sanchez Rivas.